Method and system for analyzing damage of products

ABSTRACT

The cause of damage occurring in a distribution process is analyzed promptly and adequately. A damage status analyzing system ( 1 ) has a storage section ( 2 ) that stores damage information on cars including damaged position information, together with distribution attributes obtained during transportation, a damage status analyzing section ( 3 ) that analyzes the status of damage for each distribution attribute on the basis of the damage information, and a presentation section ( 4 ) that presents the results of the analysis. While determining damaged positions indicated by X and Y coordinates, damage information such as the type and level of damage and distribution attribute information obtained during transportation can be accumulated. In analyzing the tendency and characteristic of damage such as the status and position thereof in distribution processes, it is important to visually more precisely determine the status of the damage. Accordingly, the image status analyzing system ( 1 ) enables prompt and adequate determination.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is divisional of U.S. patent application Ser. No.10/169,594, filed Jul. 2, 2002, which claims priority to Japanese PatentApplication No. 2000-233960, filed Aug. 2, 2000, and PCT Application No.PCT/JP00/06752, filed Sep. 29, 2000, the content of which areincorporated hereinto by reference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. The Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a method and system for analyzingdamage to products in a distribution process.

2. The Relevant Technology

An important object of distribution operations is to “promptly”transport products while maintaining the “high quality” thereof. If anyproduct is damaged during a distribution process, the cause of thedamage must be found as early as possible, and appropriate measures mustbe promptly taken therefor.

To examine and analyze the tendency and cause of damage duringtransportation, it is very important to be able to visually moreprecisely and freely check each attribute to determine which part of theproduct is frequently damaged and the like. However, the damage to theproduct is merely drawn on plain view as so-called image data, therebyhindering statistical processes from being easily executed as in thecase with mathematical data. If a statistical process is executed, avery inefficient method must be carried out which comprises, forexample, classifying each damaged position and manually drawing damagedpoints on a chart one by one.

Information on damage to products in a conventional distribution processhas been analyzed by recording damage information on a sheet or amagnetic medium at a check point provided in the middle of or at theterminal of the distribution process and sending the recorded damageinformation to an analysis section. All data processed by statisticaloperations is figured for the quantity of damaged products, the numberof occurrences, and the like as well as classification items generallyrepresenting damaged areas. A computer is used to classify, extract, andtotal data, but visual statistical analysis of the tendency of damagepositions, which is very effective in analyzing the cause of the damage,must depend on manual classification and input of data. Accordingly, thevisual statistical analysis requires a relatively large amount of worktime and loads.

Corrective measures must be promptly taken for damage to products duringa distribution process if it involves a particular problem. If suchmeasures are not taken, the problem may spread immediately because alarge amount of products are distributed everyday.

After precisely determining a damage occurrence location, the tendencyand characteristic of damage must be promptly determined and analyzed.The conventional statistical method depending on figures andclassification items representing damaged areas is not sufficientlyprecise. Further, analysis including visual elements requires anexcessively large amount of time and labor, thereby hindering preciseanalysis data to be promptly produced.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a damage statusanalyzing method and system that can promptly adequately analyze thecause of damage that may occur during a distribution process.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

A damage status analyzing method according to the present invention ischaracterized in that product damage information including at leastdamaged position information is stored together with distributionattributes obtained during transportation so that a damage status isanalyzed for each distribution attribute on the basis of damageinformation.

The damaged position information is preferably indicated as planartwo-dimensional position coordinates by, for example, schematicallyrepresenting products on a two-dimensional drawing such as adevelopment. However, the present invention is not limited to thisaspect. In any case, a damage status analyzing system identifies aparticular damaged position indicated by a X and Y coordinates insteadof a roughly determined position such as a door of a car. In connectionwith the damaged position, damage information such as the type and levelof damage and distribution attribute information obtained duringtransportation are accumulated. To analyze the tendency andcharacteristic of damage such as the status and location thereof indistribution processes, it is important to visually more preciselydetermine what part of the product is frequently damaged and the like.Accordingly, the damage status analyzing system enables such matters tobe determined promptly and adequately.

The distribution attributes are various factors constituting adistribution process and include those which are identified by, forexample, the time when the damage check was conducted, the type ofproducts to be transported, for example, if cars are transported, theparticular type of the cars or their grade within an arbitrary type, andthe location where the damage check was conducted and determinationinformation for each transportation means, each transportation route,each transporter, each transportation facility, and each harbor cargohandler.

According to a first method, product damage information including atleast damaged position information is stored together with distributionattributes obtained during transportation so that the status of thedamage is analyzed for each distribution attribute on the basis of thedamage information. Thus, the results of the analysis are presented toan analysis operator, thereby facilitating analysis of the cause of thedamage to the product.

That is, with numerical data such as the quantity of damaged productsand the number of occurrences as well as classification items generallyrepresenting damaged positions, which are processed in the conventionalstatistical operations, the tendency of the damage can be determined tosome degree, but it is difficult to find the cause of the damage. Withthis method, damaged position information represented by thetwo-dimensional position coordinates of damage to a product is presentedtogether with distribution attribute information such as time seriesinformation, check point information, and transporter information. Iffor example, cars are transported and if it is determined that most ofthe damage occurs in the neighborhood of the movable root of a frontdoor during transportation, then it can be estimated that atransportation instrument may strike against this area to cause damage,thereby enabling the causes to be analyzed. Consequently, the tendencyand characteristic of the damage such as the status and position thereofin distribution processes can be examined and analyzed promptly andadequately.

With a second method, product damage information including at leastdamaged position information is stored in accordance with time series sothat during analysis, a variation in each damage along the time seriesis clarified to temporally analyze the occurrence of the damage.

With a third method, damage information is stored together with an itemindicating the type of a product so that the status of damage to aparticular area is analyzed for each product type on the basis of thedamage information. By way of example, damage information is accumulatedfor each car type or each grade of a particular car type so that thedamaged area and the type of the damage are analyzed for each car typeor each grade, thereby enabling the causes and tendency of the damage tobe analyzed.

With a fourth method, damage information is stored together with an itemindicating a point (location) where the product was checked for damageso that the status of damage to a particular area is analyzed for eachcheck location on the basis of the damage information. For example, ifit is determined at a particular check point that a particular type ofdamage occurs in a particular area of a particular product, then it isdetermined that there is a problem with a particular producttransporting method used before the check point is reached or thetransporter's handling method.

With a fifth method, product damage information including at leastdamaged position information is stored together with at least one of thedistribution attributes including transportation means, a transportationroute, and a transporter so that the status of damage to a particulararea is analyzed for each distribution attribute on the basis of thedamage information. The cause of damage to a product can be easilyanalyzed on the basis of the damage information. For example, if it isdetermined that with a particular transportation means, a particulartype of damage tends to occur in a particular area of a particularproduct, then this transportation means is the cause of the damage, andoccurrence of damage can be controlled by properly changing thistransportation means.

With a sixth method, if the damage information includes the type andlevel of damage, the cause of the damage can be more precisely analyzed.For example, even if it is determined at the same check point thatdamage has occurred at the same position of products, the cause of thedamage may vary depending on the type or level of the damage.Furthermore, determining the type and level of damage enables thedetermination of whether to take drastic or simple measures.

With a seventh method, if the damaged position information is indicatedby planar two-dimensional position coordinates, then damage informationsuch as the type and level of damage and distribution attributeinformation obtained during transportation are accumulated in connectionwith the damaged position information. This enables prompt and adequateanalysis of the tendency and characteristic of damage such as the statusand position thereof in distribution processes, for which visually moreprecise determinations are important. In particular, for damageoccurring within the distribution process, visual determination of whichpart of the product is damaged often allows the cause of the damage tobe found.

An eighth to fourteenth arrangements relate to a system executing theabove method.

The eighth arrangement corresponds to the first method, and the damagestatus analyzing system is characterized by comprising storage means forstoring product damage information including at least damaged positioninformation, together with distribution attributes obtained duringtransportation, damage status analyzing means for analyzing the statusof the damage for each distribution attribute on the basis of the damageinformation, and presentation means for presenting results of theanalysis.

The tendency of the damage can be estimated by combining one or moredistribution attribute items, analyzing the damage status of theproduct, counting the number of products undergoing a particular type ofdamage, and analyzing the level of the damage. An analysis methodincluding such an estimation method as a rule is preferably provided inthe damage status analyzing means. The damage status analyzing meansprovided with such an analysis means analyses the damage status by usingthe analysis method to check damage information having damaged positioninformation focusing on a particular position together with thecorresponding distribution attributes. Thus, the cause of the damage canbe determined more promptly and precisely than before. If the damagestatus analyzing means is provided with the analysis method as a rule,analysis of the cause of the damage, which has relied on a particularperson's intuition, is carried out promptly and adequately.

The ninth arrangement corresponds to the second method, and the damagestatus analyzing system is characterized by comprising storage means forstoring product damage information including at least damaged positioninformation, in a time series manner, damage status analyzing means forclarifying a variation in each damage along the time series totemporally analyze the occurrence of the damage, and presentation meansfor presenting results of the analysis.

The tenth arrangement corresponds to the third method, and the damagestatus analyzing system is characterized by comprising storage means forstoring product damage information including at least damaged positioninformation, together with an item indicating the type of a product,damage status analyzing means for analyzing the status of damage foreach product type on the basis of the damage information, andpresentation means for presenting results of the analysis.

The eleventh arrangement corresponds to the fourth method, and thedamage status analyzing system is characterized by comprising storagemeans for storing product damage information including at least damagedposition information, together with an item indicating a location wherethe product was checked for damage, damage status analyzing means foranalyzing the status of damage for each check location on the basis ofthe damage information, and presentation means for presenting results ofthe analysis.

The eleventh arrangement corresponds to the fourth method, and thedamage status analyzing system is characterized by comprising storagemeans for storing product damage information including at least damagedposition information, together with an item indicating at least one ofthe distribution attributes including transportation means, atransportation route, and a transporter, damage status analyzing meansfor analyzing the status of damage for each distribution attribute onthe basis of the damage information, and presentation means forpresenting results of the analysis.

The thirteenth arrangement corresponds to the sixth method and ischaracterized in that the damage information includes the type and levelof damage.

The fourteenth arrangement corresponds to the seventh method and ischaracterized in that the damaged position information is indicated byplanar two-dimensional position coordinates.

According to the fifteenth arrangement, it is proposed that any of theeighth to fourteenth damage status analyzing systems include a damagestatus input terminal that transfers the product damage information. Aspecific construction is characterized by further comprising aninformation transferring apparatus that transfers product damageinformation including at least damaged position information, togetherwith distribution attributes obtained during transportation.

A sixteenth to twenty-third arrangements relate to a recording mediumstoring a program that can be executed by a computer in order to allowthe computer to operate any of the eighth to fifteenth arrangements.That is, an arrangement that attains the above object is a recordingmedium storing a program that can be loaded and executed by a computerto implement the above described means using the computer. The computermay be a general-purpose computer including a central processing unit ora dedicated machine used for particular processes, and is not limited aslong as it includes a central processing unit.

When the program that allows the computer to function as each of theabove described means is loaded from the recording medium into thecomputer, the corresponding means defined in the eighth to fifteentharrangements is implemented.

A specific sixteenth arrangement is a computer-readable recording mediumhaving a program recorded thereon, the program allowing the computer tofunction as storage means for storing product damage informationincluding at least damaged position information, together withdistribution attributes obtained during transportation, damage statusanalyzing means for analyzing a the status of the damage for eachdistribution attribute on the basis of the damage information, andpresentation means for presenting results of the analysis.

A specific seventeenth arrangement is a computer-readable recordingmedium having a program recorded thereon, the program allowing thecomputer to function as storage means for storing product damageinformation including at least damaged position information, in a timeseries manner, damage status analyzing means for clarifying a variationin each damage along the time series to temporally analyze theoccurrence of the damage, and presentation means for presenting resultsof the analysis.

A specific eighteenth arrangement is a computer-readable recordingmedium having a program recorded thereon, the program allowing thecomputer to function as storage means for storing product damageinformation including at least damaged position information, togetherwith an item indicating the type of a product, damage status analyzingmeans for analyzing the status of damage for each product type on thebasis of the damage information, and presentation means for presentingresults of the analysis.

A specific nineteenth arrangement is a computer-readable recordingmedium having a program recorded thereon, the program allowing thecomputer to function as storage means for storing product damageinformation including at least damaged position information, togetherwith an item indicating a location where the product was checked fordamage, damage status analyzing means for analyzing the status of damagefor each check location on the basis of the damage information, andpresentation means for presenting results of the analysis.

A specific twentieth arrangement is a computer-readable recording mediumhaving a program recorded thereon, the program allowing the computer tofunction as storage means for storing product damage informationincluding at least damaged position information, together with an itemindicating at least one of the distribution attributes includingtransportation means, a transportation route, and a transporter, damagestatus analyzing means for analyzing the status of damage for eachdistribution attribute on the basis of the damage information, andpresentation means for presenting results of the analysis.

A specific twenty-first arrangement is characterized in that the damageinformation includes the type and level of damage.

A specific twenty-second arrangement is characterized in that thedamaged position information is indicated by planar two-dimensionalposition coordinates.

According to a twenty-third arrangement, a computer-readable recordingmedium is proposed which has a program recorded thereon, the programfunctioning as a damage status input terminal when executed by thecomputer. Its specific arrangement is a computer-readable recordingmedium having a program recorded thereon, the program allowing thecomputer to function as a damage status input terminal comprising aninformation transferring apparatus that transfers product damageinformation including at least damaged position information, togetherwith distribution attributes obtained during transportation.

These recording media can be distributed as software products. Further,by operating any of the software products using existing hardwareresources, the present invention can be easily executed on the existinghardware as a new application. It should be appreciated that in additionto these recording media, internal storage devices such as a RAM and aROM and external storage devices such as a hard disk may be included inthe recording medium defined by the present invention as long as theycan have the program recorded thereon.

Some of the functions of the means of the sixteenth to twenty-thirdarrangements may be incorporated in the computer as hardware or may beimplemented by an operating system or another application programincorporated in the computer. The program recorded on the recordingmedium may contain commands that invokes functions executed by thecomputer or causes such functions to be linked.

Some of the means defined in the eighth to fifteenth arrangements may bereplaced with corresponding ones of the functions executed, for example,by the operating system. That is, the recording medium does not haveprograms or modules directly recorded thereon which implement thesefunctions, but substantially the same effects can be produced byinvoking the corresponding functions of the operating system, which canachieve these functions, or causing the functions to be linked.

According to a twenty-fourth to thirty-first arrangements, a computerprogram that achieves the same functions as those of the programrecorded on the recording medium according to any of the sixteenth totwenty-third arrangements is proposed separately from the recordingmedium.

A specific twenty-fourth arrangement is a computer program productallowing the computer to function as storage means for storing productdamage information including at least damaged position information,together with distribution attributes obtained during transportation,damage status analyzing means for analyzing a the status of the damagefor each distribution attribute on the basis of the damage information,and presentation means for presenting results of the analysis.

A specific twenty-fifth arrangement is a computer program productallowing the computer to function as storage means for storing productdamage information including at least damaged position information, in atime series manner, damage status analyzing means for clarifying avariation in each damage along the time series to temporally analyze theoccurrence of the damage, and presentation means for presenting resultsof the analysis.

A specific twenty-sixth arrangement is a computer program productallowing the computer to function as storage means for storing productdamage information including at least damaged position information,together with an item indicating the type of a product, damage statusanalyzing means for analyzing the status of damage for each product typeon the basis of the damage information, and presentation means forpresenting results of the analysis.

A specific twenty-seventh arrangement is a computer program productallowing the computer to function as storage means for storing productdamage information including at least damaged position information,together with an item indicating a location where the product waschecked for damage, damage status analyzing means for analyzing thestatus of damage for each check location on the basis of the damageinformation, and presentation means for presenting results of theanalysis.

A specific twenty-eighth arrangement is a computer program productallowing the computer to function as storage means for storing productdamage information including at least damaged position information,together with an item indicating at least one of the distributionattributes including transportation means, a transportation route, and atransporter, damage status analyzing means for analyzing the status ofdamage for each distribution attribute on the basis of the damageinformation, and presentation means for presenting results of theanalysis.

A twenty-ninth computer program product arrangement is characterized inthat the damage information includes the type and level of damage.

A thirtieth computer program product arrangement is characterized inthat the damaged position information is indicated by planartwo-dimensional position coordinates.

According to a thirty-first arrangement, a computer-readable recordingmedium is proposed which has a program recorded thereon, the programfunctioning as a damage status input terminal when executed by thecomputer. Its specific arrangement is a computer program productallowing the computer to function as a damage status input terminalcomprising an information transferring apparatus that transfers productdamage information including at least damaged position information,together with distribution attributes obtained during transportation.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Various embodiments of the present invention will now be discussed withreference to the appended drawings. It is appreciated that thesedrawings depict only typical embodiments of the invention and aretherefore not to be considered limiting of its scope.

FIG. 1 is a view showing the configuration of the entire damage statusanalyzing system that analyzes the status of damage;

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the configuration of apparatusesincluding an application server 100, a database server 120, and a client130;

FIG. 3 is a view showing a data structure composed of damage informationon a car including damaged position information and distributionattribute information obtained during transportation;

FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing a method of synthesizing, on ascreen, a development of a car type to be checked and damaged positioninformation indicated by a X and Y coordinates;

FIG. 5 is a view showing an input screen displayed if damaged positioninformation is input at a terminal;

FIG. 6 is a view showing a screen on which damage information is input;

FIG. 7 is a view showing a screen displaying, in a presentation section4, damage information with damaged position information stored in astorage section 2, together with an enlarged development of a car typeto be checked;

FIG. 8 is a view showing that the results of checks on a car damagestatus carried out at certain points are collectively stored in thestorage section;

FIG. 9 is a view showing positional information on damage discovered ata point C when a car with the same body number were checked at points Band C;

FIG. 10 is a view schematically showing analysis of the status of damageusing the damage status analyzing system, in accordance with timeseries;

FIG. 11 is a development of a car showing the status of damage for eachcar type observed when dispatching quality was checked;

FIG. 12 is a development of a car showing the status of damage for eachdamaged car type observed when dispatching quality was checked;

FIG. 13 is a graph showing the results of composite analysis of damagedareas and types carried out when dispatching quality was checked;

FIG. 14 is a development of a car showing the status of damage for eachcar type observed when railway transportation quality was checked;

FIG. 15 is a development of a car showing the status of damage for eachdamaged car type observed when railway transportation quality waschecked;

FIG. 16 is a graph showing the results of composite analysis of damagedareas and types carried out when railway transportation quality waschecked;

FIG. 17 is a development of a car showing the status of damage for eachcar type observed when pre-loading quality was checked;

FIG. 18 is a development of a car showing the status of damage for eachdamaged car type observed when pre-loading quality was checked;

FIG. 19 is a development of a car showing the cumulative total of thestatus of damage for the same car type observed when pre-loading qualitywas checked;

FIG. 20 is a development of a car showing the cumulative total of thestatus of damage for the same damaged car type observed when pre-loadingquality was checked;

FIG. 21 is a graph showing the results of composite analysis of damagedareas and types carried out when pre-loading quality was checked;

FIG. 22 is a development of a car showing the status of damage for eachcar type observed when ocean shipping quality was checked;

FIG. 23 is a development of a car showing the status of damage for eachdamaged car type observed when ocean shipping quality was checked;

FIG. 24 is a graph showing the results of composite analysis of damagedareas and types carried out when ocean shipping quality was checked;

FIG. 25 development of a car showing the status of damage for each cartype observed when the contents of repairs were finally checked;

FIG. 26 is a development of a car showing the status of damage for eachdamaged car type observed when the contents of repairs were finallychecked;

FIG. 27 is a development of a car showing the cumulative total of thestatus of damage for the same car type observed when the contents ofrepairs were finally checked;

FIG. 28 is a development of a car showing the cumulative total of thestatus of damage for the same damaged car type observed when thecontents of repairs were finally checked;

FIG. 29 is a graph showing the results of composite analysis of damagedareas and types carried out when the contents of repairs were finallychecked;

FIG. 30 is a graph showing the transition of the frequency of damageduring the entire transportation process according to Embodiment 2;

FIG. 31 is a flow chart showing the flow of a process executed by thedamage status analyzing system 1; and

FIG. 32 is a flow chart showing the flow of a process executed toanalyze the status of damage in different cargoes.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below.

(Embodiment 1)

FIG. 1 shows the configuration of a damage status analyzing system thatanalyzes the status of damage. If a plurality of cars are transported incargoes from a location A to a location D, the status of damage in thecargoes is checked at each location. The results of the checks are sentfrom a plurality of terminals A to D to a damage status analyzing system1 via the Internet 300. Then, the system 1 analyzes the status ofdamage.

As shown in FIG. 1, operators conducting checks at these locations eachuse the terminal A, B, C, or D such as a personal computer to point outa damaged area on a development of a car to be checked as shown in FIG.5 (in this figure, a cross is used to indicate the damaged area).Furthermore, the operator checking the car inputs damage informationsuch as the type and level of the damage and distribution attributessuch as a name of a checking organization, a checked date and time, anda checked location. The input data is provided with security and thensent to a Web server 200 of the damage status analyzing system 1 via theInternet 300.

The Web server 200 identifies the operator of the terminal that hastransferred the data, then clears the security provided for thetransferred data, and subsequently delivers the data to an applicationserver 100 constituting the damage status analyzing system 1.

Instead of using the Internet 300 as shown in FIG. 1, the data may besaved to a magnetic recording medium, which is then transported anddelivered to the damage status analyzing system 1. Alternatively, a planview drawn on paper and illustrating the occurrence of damage may besent from a check point. On the basis of this plan view, directly from aclient 130, the damaged area may be pointed out (in the figure, a crossis used to indicate this area), and other damage information such as thetype and level of the damage and distribution attributes such as a nameof a checking organization, a checked date and time, and a checkedlocation may then be input to save these data.

The damage status analyzing system 1 analyzes the status of the damageon the basis of the accumulated data, and displays the results of theanalysis on a screen of the client 130 connected to the applicationserver 100.

FIG. 2 shows the construction of apparatuses including the applicationserver 100, a database server 120, and the client 130 connected to theapplication server 100, all of which constitute the damage statusanalyzing system 1.

Each of these apparatuses comprises a CPU 102, internal storage devicessuch as a RAM 103 and a ROM 104, external storage devices such as a harddisk drive 105 and a CD-ROM driver 106, a particular communicationdevice 107 composed of an adapter to which a dedicated line to theInternet is connected, input devices such as a keyboard 108 and a mouse109, and output devices such as a display 110 and a printer 111, all ofwhich are connected together via a system bus. The system bus 101 allowsrequired data and commands to be communicated between these devices.Further, if the Web server 200 or terminal is composed of ageneral-purpose computer, it has the same configuration and thus itsdetailed description is omitted.

The damage status analyzing system 1 is constructed on the applicationserver 100, database server 120, and client 130, and has a storagesection 2, a damage status analyzing section 3, and a presentationsection 4, as shown in FIG. 1.

The storage section 2 is composed of the hard disk drive 105 of thedatabase server 120 to store damage information on cars including atleast damaged position information, together with distributionattributes obtained during transportation. The stored information willbe described later.

The damage status analyzing section 3 is composed of the CPU 102 of theapplication server 100 and the RAM 103 thereof, which provides a workingarea. An analysis method storage section 30 composed of the hard diskdrive 105 of the database server 120 provides an analysis method for thedamage status analyzing section 3. The damage status analyzing section 3has the function of analyzing the status of damage for each distributionattribute on the basis of the damage information.

The analysis method stored in the analysis method storage section 30analyzes the tendency of damage by taking out one or more arbitrarydistribution attributes, rearranging the damage information and theother distribution attributes relative to the taken-out attributes, andcounting the number of flaws concentrating at a particular position in atwo-dimensional position coordinate system. If for example, cars of thesame type are divided into groups of cargoes, which are then transportedduring different operations, then damage information is extracted foreach group of cargoes taken out from the distribution attributes. Thestatus of damage to the cars in each cargo group at each location iscompared and analyzed. For the comparison and analysis, the data isrearranged in accordance with the time series, and the status of thesame car type at the same location is compared for each part of the timeseries.

For such analysis, roughly two methods are desirably employed. One ofthe methods is to use initially fixed conditions to check whether or notdamage has occurred under these conditions. The other is to formulatevarious hypotheses, extract data while varying the conditions, rearrangethe data, and determine whether or not there is an unexpectedsignificant data tendency. That is, this method presents only theparticular condition with a significant tendency when the results arearranged.

The presentation section 4 is composed of the display 110 of the client130 and has the function of presenting the results of the analysis.Although the presentation section 4 is composed of the client 130, itmay be composed of the display (not shown) installed in the applicationserver 100.

FIG. 3 shows a data structure composed of damage information on a carincluding damaged position information as well as distribution attributeinformation obtained during transportation, both sets of informationcorresponding to the results of checks stored in the storage section 2.

The data structure includes a (0) product number, that is, the bodynumber of each car to be checked, the drawing number of a development ofthe car to be checked, and damaged position information composed of a Xand Y coordinates indicative of each damaged position in thedevelopment. Damage information indicative of the type, shape, level,and the like of the damage at each damaged position is stored togetherwith the X and Y coordinates. The figure illustrates the type, shape,level, size, and other factors of damage. The data structure furtherincludes distribution attributes obtained during transportation. In thefigure, the distribution attributes include the name of a car type, agrade, the name of a checking organization, a checked date and time, achecked location, a plant code, a maker code, the name of a troopship, aloaded position within the ship, the type of a transportationinstrument, a departure port, an arrival port, the name of a shipcompany, the name of a cargo handler, a departure date, an arrival date,the date of cargo handling, and other pieces of information.

FIG. 4 shows a method of synthesizing a development of a car type to bechecked and damaged position information indicated by a X and Ycoordinates. The synthesized screen is displayed on the presentationsection 4 to allow an operator to visually confirm the damaged position.By specifying arbitrary classification and extraction conditions on thebasis of the distribution attribute information, a tendency indicatingwhich part of a checked car is frequently damaged or the like can bedetermined. Further, the damaged position can be visually determinedwithin a short time viewing the various status of damage under many andvarious classification and extraction conditions.

FIG. 5 shows an input screen displayed if damaged position informationand the type, level, and other factors of damage are input at, forexample, a terminal A. When a damaged position is clicked on thedevelopment of the checked car type using a cursor, X and Y coordinatedata on the development shown on the screen is obtained. The coordinatedata is stored in the storage section 2 as damaged position informationdata. At this time, the input screen shown in FIG. 6 is presented, anddamage information such as the type and level of the damage is input.

These pieces of information are input for all of the damage to thetarget car. If there are a plurality of cars, the input operation isperformed for predetermined ones of them. This operation may beperformed for all the cars or only some of them which are extracted atcertain intervals or at random. Subsequently, distribution attributessuch as those shown in FIG. 3 are input.

FIG. 7 shows a screen displaying, in the presentation section 4, damageinformation with damaged position information stored in the storagesection 2, together with an enlarged development of a car type to bechecked. Information on damaged areas marked with stars on thedevelopment is inverted on a spread sheet.

FIG. 8 shows that the results of checks on a car damage status carriedout at certain points are collectively stored in the storage section 2.This figure shows the case in which several hundred cards aretransported from a location A to a location B by land, then to alocation C by sea, and subsequently to a location D by land again.

The same target is checked in a time series manner or at each checkpoint so that the results of the checks are accumulated in the storagesection 2 of the damage status analyzing system 1. When the damagestatus analyzing section 3 processes the accumulated results of thechecks, when and where the damage has occurred and which part of the carhas been damaged can be determined in detail from the distributionattribute information. Furthermore, distribution attributes such as thename of a ship, a loaded position within the ship, the type of atransportation instrument, the name of a ship company, and the name of acargo handler as well as damage information such as the type and levelof the damage are specified separately or in combination asclassification and extraction conditions for the damaged position. Inthis manner, the causal relationship with the damage, e.g. which part ofthe car is prone to undergo the damage under certain conditions can bedetermined for each distribution attribute in detail, thereby enablingthe cause of the damage to be determined or estimated.

FIG. 9 shows positional information on damage discovered at a point Cwhen a car with the same body number was checked at points B and C. FIG.9 indicates that a right door position was damaged during loading, oceanshipping, or unloading. Furthermore, for example, distributionattributes such as the name of a ship, a loaded position within theship, the type of a transportation instrument, the name of a shipcompany, and the name of a cargo handler as well as damage informationsuch as the type and level of the damage are specified separately or incombination as classification and extraction conditions for the damagedposition for display. As a result, which part of the car is prone toundergo the damage under certain conditions can be determined, orinformation useful in estimating the cause of the damage can be obtainedfrom the distribution attributes.

Damage information including damaged position information is presentedon the screen, and the damage status analyzing section 3 uses thevarious conditions in the distribution attribute information separatelyor in combination to provide classified and extracted damaged positioninformation. Consequently, the status of the damage can be analyzed moreclosely than in the prior art within a very short time. The presentationsection 4 provides the results of such damage status analysis for anoperator analyzing the status, so that the analysis operator canprecisely analyze the cause of the damage. For the above-describedmethod, the damage status analyzing section 3 draws out an appropriateanalysis method from the analysis method storage section 30 forexecution as required.

For example, if damage information has been accumulated for many othercars transported simultaneously, it is estimated that this damage hasbeen caused by the transporter or cargo handler or the transportationinstrument used during transportation.

Furthermore, if cars of the same type divided into groups aretransported during different operations and if damage is found at thesame position of the cars loaded at the same position of the ships, itis estimated that the loading of the cars in the ship is a problem.

There has been no conventional mechanism for closely identifying thedamaged area and instantaneously displaying the attribute conditionsunder separate conditions or a combination of the conditions. Therefore,this point is the greatest characteristic of the present invention.

Specific examples of the above analysis method will be described below.

(Rule of Estimation for the Cause of Damage Confirmed on aTwo-Dimensional Plan View (Damage to Cars))

To use the damage status analyzing system 1 used to check cars fordamage, and to determine the tendency of the damage on a two-dimensionalplan view to clarify the cause thereof, the following analysis processand functions are executed:

First, damage information is checked, and basic elements required toanalyze the status of damage (e.g., temporal and locational attributeinformation and conditions) are input to the computer. On the basis ofthe time-series and locational transitions of distribution, the damagestatus analyzing system shows when and where the damage occurred byarranging the data according to the conditions. This automaticallyprovides the locational and temporal elements of the damage, which arebasic check items.

Second, distribution attribute information and conditions such as thetype of products, a harbor cargo handler and a handling method, a route,and the type of a transportation instrument are input to the computer,and the damage status analyzing system 1 arranges and displays thesedata. In addition to the temporal and locational elements, more detailedinformation, that is, other distribution attribute factors concerningthe damage can be verified. If a peculiar damage tendency occurs inparticular environments and under particular conditions, distributionenvironment factors concerning these damage and attribute factors commonto the damage are derived.

As a third step, the cause of damage to the surface of a vehicle issomewhat unique to its occurrence position. The present system uses thecomputer to precisely and promptly arrange and display the bias statusof damaged positions on a two-dimensional plan view. Consequently, themost probable damage factors can be derived by comprehensiveexaminations based on the results of the analysis in the first andsecond step. This is useful in promptly discussing and planning futuredamage prevention measures and carrying out the planned measures asearly as possible.

The first to third steps need not necessarily be executed in this order,but the damage factors can be determined by executing the three steps inan arbitrary order.

An explanation will be given of several specific standard examples ofthe rule for the causal relationship between damaged areas and thecauses of the damage, described in the third step. After arrangement andextraction of data has been carried out on the basis of the distributionattribute conditions input to the computer, the tendency of the statusof damage is arranged and displayed on a two-dimensional drawingtogether with precise positional information on damaged areas. Amechanism for easily deriving factors concerning the cause of the damageand promptly finding and correcting the cause will be easily describedusing a model that simplifies actual operations to some degree.

With conventional check and analysis methods, data including suchattribute information is checked, and every damaged position is manuallymarked on a plan view. It is virtually difficult due to a large amountof associated burdens to manually accumulate a large amount of data,switch a combination of cutaway views and conditions, and analyze anddisplay the appearance of damaged points.

(Standard Rule for Analysis for Vehicle Damage Checks)

First, the status of damage is checked and recorded at two points in acar transporting process. For each transportation section, informationon a plurality of cargo handlers engaged in transportation andinformation on the name of a car type and the type and level of damageare added as data and input to the damage status analyzing system 1together with positional information.

(Case 1)

Statistical analysis executed by the damage status analyzing system 1indicates that in a certain transportation section, more scratchesoccurred close to a door handle or a keyhole on the driver side.

(Derived Estimated Cause)

It has been confirmed that the reason why a large number of scratches onthe driver side door are found close to the door handle or keyholerather than being irregularly distributed in all directions is that acargo handler violently opens and closes the door. If it is determinedthat particularly many scratches occurred during cargo handling carriedout by the cargo handler in charge of the displayed transportationsection, this cargo handler must be notified of the need to improve itshandling method. Since a large amount of products are transportedeveryday, it is important to more promptly find the cause of damage andnotify the corresponding operator of the cause, in order to effectivelyprevent similar damage. With mere information indicating that the“driver side door is damaged in three areas” or the like, as in theprior art, it is difficult to estimate the cause of the damage.

(Case 2)

The same checks conducted by the damage status analyzing system 1indicate that many scratches occurred in the front and rear doors of thecar and in the lower part of the fender.

(Derived Estimated Cause)

Most of the damage occurring in the lower part of the door,specifically, an area located several tens of centimeters from theground, during a particular section results from the bad condition ofthe ground of a wharf, on which the car must run and may splash pebblesor sand. The road surface of the wharf in the corresponding sectionshould be checked to take corrective measures such as improvement of theroad surface and limitation of running speed. If the damage concentrateson either the right or left door, the cause may be that the car isplaced outdoors over a long period and exposed to a blow of sand orgravel due to strong winds. Alternatively, pebbles splashed by othercars may have struck against this car. With mere information indicatingthat the “driver side door is damaged in three areas” or the like, as inthe prior art, it is difficult to estimate the cause of the damage.

(Case 3)

Statistical analysis carried out by the damage status analyzing system 1indicates that a large number of scratches have occurred at the oppositeends of the bumper of the car.

(Derived Estimated Cause)

If data is accumulated in and analyzed by the damage status analyzingsystem 1 to determine that a large number of scratches have occurredclose to the opposite ends of the bumper, then it is likely that afixture or lashing material used to tie the car to the floor of a holdwas inappropriately handled. The handling of the fixture or lashingmaterial in this section must be corrected.

If the scratches are scattered over the surface of the bumper andsimilar scratches are also scattered over a part of the body close tothe bumper, then the car may have splashed gravel under bad road surfaceconditions. With mere information indicating that the “driver side dooris damaged in three areas” or the like, as in the prior art, it isdifficult to estimate the cause of the damage.

(Case 4)

Statistical analysis carried out by the damage status analyzing system 1indicates that a large number of contamination losses and flaws haveoccurred at the right and left ends of the ceiling portion of the car.

(Derived Estimated Cause)

If the dirty areas are uniformly distributed over the ceiling, then itis likely that flying dirt may have stuck to the car while it was placedoutdoors. If the dirty areas or flaws are present only at the rightand/or left end of the ceiling, then it is likely that this damageresults from acts of operators such as the placement of operators' handsor dirty portable instruments at this position during cargo handling.Accordingly, the cargo handling method in this section must becorrected.

(Case 5)

Statistical analysis carried out by the damage status analyzing system 1indicates that scratches are present between the ground and a fixedheight in various areas including the door, fender, and right and leftpanel portions of the car. In this case, two estimated causes arederived.

(Derived Estimated Cause)

One of the estimated causes is that when operators pass by the car in atemporary storage site, belt fixtures, watches, or the like which areworn by the operators against a work clothe manual often come in contactwith the car body to cause damage. The actual situation of the cargohandling in the section in which a large number of such scratches arefound must be closely examined, verified, and corrected.

The other cause may be that a transportation section including aself-running section has a very narrow portion, where the car comes incontact with protrusions present therein. The facilities in thetransportation process must be checked and improved.

(Case 6)

Statistical analysis carried out by the damage status analyzing system 1indicates that a large number of scratches are found in the same area ofthe same car type regardless of the transportation section,transportation instrument, or cargo handler.

(Derived Estimated Cause)

It is likely that the transportation process has no problem but that themanufacture process of the plant is problematic with damage occurring ona production line. The products must be checked for damage before beingshipped from the plant so that this damage can be strictly distinguishedfrom damage occurring during the transportation process to determine thecause thereof on the plant production line.

As described above, the damage status analyzing system 1 carries outtime-series and locational tendency analysis of damage and tendencyanalysis of distribution attribute information and damaged positions ona plan view. The cause of the damage, which is difficult to promptlyfind with the conventional method, can be easily determined from theresults of these analysis processes.

The present invention provides not only a close damage check method butalso a very effective support mechanism for consulting and negotiatingwith related people to reduce or prevent distribution damage fromoccurring during the manufacture or transportation process. This isbecause those engaged in the transportation process tend to avoidadmitting that damage has occurred in their responsible section andbecause they are prone to treat damage, if any, as an “accidentaloccurrence”. The damage status analyzing system 1 can present materials,together with the corresponding drawing, indicating that damage tends tooccur evidently regularly only in the responsible section. This is morepersuasive and is likely to facilitate discussion on appropriatecorrective measures between the related parties.

If an enormous amount of data is used, the damage status analyzingsystem 1 is constructed as a distributed processing system comprisingthe application server 100, the database server 120, and the client 130.A standalone configuration of a personal computer can also be used.

After clearing the security, the check data accumulated in the Webserver 200 can be downloaded into the client 130 for analysis asrequired. The client 130 is a damage status analyzing system constitutedby operating an application mounted in the client 130.

(Embodiment 2)

FIG. 10 schematically shows analysis of the status of damage carried outusing the damage status analyzing system, in accordance with time seriesif cars produced in the U.S. are exported to the U.K.

In Embodiment 2, dispatching quality was checked at the location 0 of aplant, railway transportation quality was checked after railwaytransportation, and a pre-loading check was conducted at a location N inthe U.S. Then, ocean transportation quality was checked at a location Sin the U.K. where the cargoes were unloaded, land transportation qualitywas checked at a location B in the U.K. after railway transportation,and the contents of repairs were finally checked at a location P in theU.K., that is, the destination. The results of these checks wereaccumulated in the damage status analyzing system 1 to analyze thestatus of damage.

During the dispatching quality check, 115 cars of a certain type werechecked including 58 TYPE-A grade cars and 57 TYPE-C grade cars. Duringthe pre-loading quality check, the same surveyor checked 84 carsincluding 58 TYPE-A grade cars and 26 TYPE-C grade cars. During theocean transportation quality check, another surveyor checked 84 carsincluding 58 TYPE-A grade cars and 26 TYPE-C grade cars.

FIG. 11 is a development of a car showing the status of damage for eachcar type observed when dispatching quality was checked. For the checkedcars of each grade, the points at which damage concentrated, i.e., thepoints at which plural ones of the checked cars of the same grade aresimilarly damaged are marked with stars of different colors. Since thedamage concentrates for both grades, the analysis operator adds ananalysis result indicating that “damage is frequent at right door”, tothe analysis screen.

The position of the damage in the “right door” is precisely displayed onthe drawing, so that it is easy to determine manual operations orobstacles that may come in contact with that height or position duringthe transportation process. Compared to a conventional report indicatingonly that “flaw present in the right door”, analysis and estimation ofthe cause is much easier.

FIG. 12 is a development of a car showing the status of damage for eachdamaged car type observed when dispatching quality was checked. For thechecked cars, the points at which similar damage concentrated, i.e., thepoints at which plural ones of the checked cars were similarly damagedare marked with stars. Since the damage concentrates, the analysisoperator adds an analysis result indicating that “almost all damage onthe right side is due to scratch”, to the analysis screen.

FIG. 13 shows the results of composite analysis of damaged areas andtypes carried out when dispatching quality was checked. In this figure,the analysis results are shown as a bar graph, and the analysis operatorhas added remarks to the graph.

In addition to the analysis based on the damaged position information,the pieces of registered distribution attribute information arearbitrarily combined together to analyze the tendency of the damage invarious manner.

FIG. 14 is a development of a car showing the status of damage for eachcar type observed when railway transportation quality was checked. Forthe checked cars of each type, the points at which damage concentratedare marked with start of different colors. Damage occurred only in theTYPE-A grade and concentrated in the rear right portion of the car andthe rear bumper. Accordingly, the analysis operator has added acorresponding analysis result to the analysis screen.

FIG. 15 is a development of a car showing the status of damage for eachdamaged car type observed when railway transportation quality waschecked. The confirmed damage includes not only scratches but also heavydamage caused by paint chips. The analysis operator has added acorresponding analysis result to the analysis screen.

FIG. 16 is a graph showing the results of composite analysis of damagedareas and types carried out when railway transportation quality waschecked. In this figure, the analysis results are shown as a bar graph,and the analysis operator has added remarks to the graph.

FIG. 17 is a development of a car showing the status of damage for eachcar type observed when pre-loading quality was checked.

FIG. 18 is a development of a car showing the status of damage for eachdamaged car type observed when pre-loading quality was checked.

FIG. 19 is a development of a car showing the cumulative total of thestatus of damage for the same car type observed when pre-loading qualitywas checked. For the type-A cars, this figure indicates that damageconcentrates in the rear bumper and the right QTR panel and door. Theanalysis operator has added a corresponding analysis result to theanalysis screen.

FIG. 20 is a development of a car showing the cumulative total of thestatus of damage for the same damaged car type observed when pre-loadingquality was checked. This figure indicates that damage concentrates inthe right panel surface and the rear bumper. Although there is a slightdifference in damage level between scratches and paint chips, theseflaws are essentially handling damage. The analysis operator has added acorresponding analysis result to the analysis screen.

In this manner, damage data are accumulated one by one under arbitraryconditions and displayed on a plan view. For particular cars transportedunder particular conditions, the tendency of damage occurring inparticular areas can be discovered to facilitate analysis and estimationof the cause of the damage.

FIG. 21 shows the results of composite analysis of damaged areas andtypes carried out when pre-loading quality was checked. In this figure,the analysis results are shown as a bar graph, and the analysis operatorhas added remarks to the graph.

FIG. 22 is a development of a car showing the status of damage for eachcar type observed when ocean shipping quality was checked. Thesignificant occurrence of damage to the right door mirror and thedistribution of damage to the QTR panel and bumper have been added tothe analysis screen as analysis results. The generally high frequency ofthe ignition key missing has also been added to the screen.

FIG. 23 is a development of a car showing the status of damage for eachdamaged car type observed when ocean shipping quality was checked. Ithas been confirmed that the ignition key is missing. The damagedetermined to be a scratch damage level is relatively slight, so that acorresponding analysis result has been added to the analysis screen.

FIG. 24 shows the results of composite analysis of damaged areas andtypes carried out when ocean shipping quality was checked. In thisfigure, the analysis results are shown as a bar graph, and the analysisoperator has added remarks to the graph.

FIG. 25 is a development of a car showing the status of damage for eachcar type observed when the contents of repairs were finally checked. Forboth TYPE-A and TYPE-B cars, this figure indicates that damageconcentrates in the upper part of the right body, and a correspondinganalysis result has been added to the analysis screen.

FIG. 26 is a development of a car showing the status of damage for eachdamaged car type observed when the contents of repairs were finallychecked. A large number of scratches have been found. Stains and severedamage unique to car carrier transportation have also been found, and acorresponding analysis result has been added to the analysis screen.

FIG. 27 is a development of a car showing the cumulative total of thestatus of damage for the same car type observed when the contents ofrepairs were finally checked.

FIG. 28 is a development of a car showing the cumulative total of thestatus of damage for the same damaged car type observed when thecontents of repairs were finally checked.

FIG. 29 shows the results of composite analysis of damaged areas andtypes carried out when the contents of repairs were finally checked. Inthis figure, the analysis results are shown as a bar graph, and theanalysis operator has added remarks to the graph.

FIG. 30 shows the transition of the frequency of damage during theentire transportation process according to Embodiment 2. The analysisoperator has added remarks to the graph.

FIGS. 31 and 32 are flow charts showing the flow of a process executedmainly by the damage status analyzing system 1.

To carry out damage analysis using the damage status analyzing system 1,the following methods are used: A data mining method formulates acertain hypothesis concerning the cause of the damage and sequentiallyprovides arbitrary analysis conditions to analyze tendencies obtained(as shown in FIG. 31). Another method uses initially fixed particularconditions, observes specified points for damage, compares the resultsof the observation, and records the actual situation of damage for eachpoint, each section, and each transportation method.

In the data mining method in FIG. 31, an analysis target is selected(step S101), and a plan view of a product, that is, the vehicle in thisembodiment is set in the damage status analyzing system 1 (step S102).Then, damage check data required for analysis is collected, and variouspieces of distribution attribute information are input and saved to thedamage status analyzing system 1 together with damaged positioninformation (X and Y coordinate axes) (step S103).

After checking whether data required for analysis has been obtained(step S104), n hypotheses concerning several causes of damage areformulated in accordance with the data mining method. For eachhypothesis, I analysis conditions required to verify the hypothesis areset (step S107), and an analysis operation is continuously performeduntil each analysis pattern is completed (steps S106 and S109).

During the analysis process, if a significant tendency different fromthe others in the position, state, or content of the damage is observedon the basis of the analysis pattern based on the original hypothesis oran analysis pattern that has not initially been provided, then it islikely that this damage is not an accidental occurrence but has beencaused by a problem unique to the distribution process (step S113).Accordingly, the cause of the damage is analyzed and verified, andcorrective measures are discussed (step S1117).

The method in FIG. 32 uses initially fixed analysis conditions to checkparticular locations or sections for damage, using positionalinformation. An analysis target and conditions are determined (stepS201), a plan view of the vehicle, a target product, is set in thedamage status analyzing system 1 (step S202). Damage data required foranalysis is collected and input (step S203).

Then, analysis is carried out on the basis of the predeterminedconditions. For example, in this embodiment, the status of damageoccurring in different groups of cargoes is analyzed. Although the cargogroups are different from each other, comparison can be achieved only ifcargo groups to be compared have the same car type name, plant code, andfinal destination. Thus, first, these pieces of distribution attributeinformation are checked (step S204). If theses pieces of information donot match (step S204; No), the process is ended.

If these pieces of information match (step S204; Yes) and if the cargoeshave the same distribution attributes, the sets of damage information onthese cargoes are compared (step S205). It is checked whether or notthere is a significant difference between these sets of damageinformation (step S206). For example, if this difference can benumerically expressed, it is determined whether or not the differenceexceeds a predetermined threshold.

If the difference between these sets of information is not significant(step S206; No), the process is ended. If the difference is significant(step S206; Yes), the results of the analysis are displayed (step S207),and the process is ended.

Thus, with the damage status analyzing system 1, the product can bechecked by mainly checking whether or not the occurrence of damage has aparticular tendency, while variously switching arbitrary conditions. Inaddition to such damage tendency analysis based on the data miningmethod, the system 1 can be applied to the method of using initiallyfixed particular conditions to check particular sections, locations, anddistribution attributes for damage.

According to this embodiment, while determining damaged positionsindicated by X and Y coordinates, damage information such as the typeand level of damage and distribution attribute information obtainedduring transportation are accumulated. This enables prompt and adequateanalysis of the tendency and characteristic of damage such as the statusand position thereof in distribution processes, for which visually moreprecise determinations are important.

In particular, since the damaged position information is indicated byplanar two-dimensional position coordinates, it is possible to visuallyclosely and statistically determine the tendency of damage such as theposition and status thereof. Accordingly, presenting the results ofanalysis to the analysis operator enables prompt and adequatedetermination and analysis of the tendency and characteristic of damagesuch as the status and position thereof in the distribution process.Further, the cause of damage during car transportation can be easilyanalyzed, thereby enabling the determination of whether to take drasticor simple measures for the damage.

The damage status analyzing system 1 is not limited to theabove-described embodiments, and various changes may be made theretowithout deviating from the spirits of the present invention.

As described above, according to the damage status analyzing method andsystem, damage status input terminal, recording medium, and computerprogram product of the present invention, while determining damagedpositions indicated by X and Y coordinates, damage information such asthe type and level of damage and distribution attribute informationobtained during transportation are accumulated. It is important tovisually more precisely determine the status of damage. Accordingly, thepresent invention is very effective in enabling prompt and adequateanalysis of the tendency and characteristic of damage such as the statusand position thereof in distribution processes.

In particular, since the damaged position information is indicated byplanar two-dimensional position coordinates, damage information such asthe type and level of damage and distribution attribute informationobtained during transportation are accumulated in connection with thedamaged position information. By combining these pieces of informationtogether under various conditions and displaying and analyzing damagedpositions and the contests thereof, the damaged positions can bevisually more precisely determined.

Industrial Applicability

As described above, with the damage status analyzing method and system,damage status input terminal, recording medium, and computer programproduct according to the present invention, it is possible to promptlyand adequately analyze the tendency and characteristic of damage such asthe status and position thereof in distribution processes. Therefore,the present invention is suitable for establishing a distributionprocess with minimized damage.

1. A damage status analyzing method comprising: selecting an article tobe analyzed from a storage section on the basis of arbitrarily selectedone or more distribution attributes of articles that are observed duringtransportation, the storage section storing, for each article, saiddistribution attributes and damage information including damagedposition information indicative of a damaged position of the article;collecting damage information indicative of damage concentrating at aparticular position on the basis of the damaged position information onthe article selected in said selection act; extracting information fromsaid damage information collected in said collection act on the basis ofanalysis conditions for estimation of causes of damage to the articlestored in said storage section, and classifying the extractedinformation according to said analysis conditions; determining the causeof the damage to the article by comparing a damage tendencycorresponding to said analysis conditions stored in said storage sectionwith a damage tendency determined through the classification in saidclassification act; and adding said damage information and a result ofthe determination in said determination act to a plan view of saidarticle on the basis of the damaged position information on saidselected article and outputting the plan view with the damageinformation and determination result added thereto to a presentationsection.
 2. A damage status analyzing system comprising: means forstoring distribution attributes of articles observed duringtransportation and damage information including damaged positioninformation indicative of damaged positions of the articles; means forselecting an article to be analyzed from said means for storing on thebasis of arbitrarily selected one or more distribution attributes; meansfor collecting damage information indicative of damage concentrating ata particular position on the basis of the damaged position informationon the article selected by said means for selecting; means forextracting required information from said damage information collectedby said means for collecting on the basis of analysis conditions forestimation of causes of damage to the article stored in said means forstoring, and classifying the extracted damage information according tosaid analysis conditions; means for determining the cause of the damageto the article by comparing a damage tendency corresponding to saidanalysis conditions stored in said means for storing with a damagetendency determined through the classification by said means forclassifying; and means for adding said damage information and a resultof the determination by said means for determining to a plan view ofsaid article on the basis of the damaged position information on saidselected article and displaying the plan view with the damageinformation and determination result added thereto.